Interesting

Yesterday, even with temps back to 95 (but low humidity so it felt like 95,) I decided to move the gang from my room into the dog room (which used to be know as the living room, back in the day when normal people lived here.) That meant I had to move a couple of the large rescues out (and into MY room) and more than double the size of their area because the whole point was to give the pups more room. And to get the puppy smell out of my room. (Look, ONE or two pups just don't make that big a mess or that many messes in a single day. But EIGHT?! Think about it!) Anyway, after about giving myself another heart attack... and having to cancel my usual Sunday night out with my son... I confined the little darlings to their new pen. This one is 6' by 10' and for right now, is sufficient for them to romp and play and poop with me having to change the papers only 3-4 times a day (rather than every 3-4 minutes!)

They did fairly well. Actually, they did somewhat better than the two adults I moved into the bedroom... it always amazes me how much initial resistance there is to that kind of change with adult dogs. Anyway, the biggest mess came when the pups discovered I'd replaced their ceramic water bowl with a larger plastic one. Big mistake on my part... puppies and plastic seem to be naturally drawn to each other. This is the first litter I've had who has gotten this old without discovering "Swimming in the Water Bowl." Well, they hadn't discover it before yesterday afternoon! So, this morning, they're back to the ceramic bowl. They were quiet most of the night... with the exception of an occasional howl (yes, HOWL) from a pup who woke up and found itself in a strange place. This morning, they were up and playing normally at 7 AM... I know 'cause I heard them but I did NOT go look!

And now, several hours later, they are out of the pen so I can clean it, and are having a great time proving THEY are smarter than I am since most of them have found the hallway back to the bedroom!

Another interesting thing... Emy and the relatives "live" in the tv/computer room which is right off the dog/living room. Grandmom and dad (Di and Brogue) and older sister, Cotton, made a beeline for the kids. EMY jumped up on the back of my chair, faced the wall and has not even LOOKED at them. She did such a great job raising this bunch but now that she's through, she's through! Which puts "paid" to my idea of having her help me with them if I take them all outside at the same time!

Last 3 Photos

Illinois bound as fast as he can get there! This is Marco.



And here's Lola, cautiously making her way toward Boulder.
(You never know what you going to step on in that icky green stuff!)



Brother found a hole and is sure his Pennsylvania family is down there somewhere.

Pups and a Rehome

Elliott, checking out every little spot in the grass!
He'll be living in Nashville where he plans on making a career in country something!



Moving to the San Francisco area is Charlie.
He's perfectly at home in the sun and apparently, loves the camera!


New Home Needed
I've just taken back a 55 pound, black, curly coated, neutered guy who is 3 years old and has been living with a couple kids and another dog. Circumstances have changed in his home AND he has a history of biting, twice. Both times were strangers who were on HIS property when he was unsupervised. He is at my vet's where he'll be staying for an evaluation period of at least 2 weeks. BUT I have to tell you, he was the perfect gentleman when I got him out of the crate and took him for a walk and he doesn't know me from Adam! Guess that should be Eve. (But his owner's name was Adam....) He sat by my side in the exam room, with his head in my lap. And my vet got right down on the floor and in his face when she first walked in the room without eliciting any negative response from him.

I am looking for someone with dog EXPERIENCE and I don't mean someone who has just had a couple pets... this has to be someone who knows what to look for and who speaks "dog."
Email me if you are interested.

9 Weeks and Counting

Celebrating their 9 weeks... Beckett and Remy.
Both are moving to Salt Lake City.


Remy was a little put off with the grass when she first felt it under her feet, but she adjusted quickly.


Beckett, on the other hand, was perfectly comfortable from the git go!

Tomorrow: Charlie and Elliott

Comes the Dawning

So here's what I figured out today... these are strange puppies! They want food in their bowl even when they're not hungry. The pups have always been a little noisy in the morning... say, around 7-8 AM. Everyone else is generally content to sleep at that hour... well, they were until it got to be so hot by 10 o'clock that they weren't all getting enough time in the yard to suit them. But the pups would be awake and making a lot of noise. Since they're in my bedroom, I notice. I get up, go to the kitchen via the bathroom and fill up a dipper of puppy food which I take back and pour into the pups' bowl. The big dogs usually don't even look up. The pups will go sniff the bowl, MAYBE take a bite or two and then go back to sleep. It's not like they ran out of food some time before lights out the night before and are starving. It's not like they wolf down the food or even eat a measurable amount. They simply want food available IN CASE. So be warned... when I tell you the pups are used to free feeding which means having food and water available 24/7, I'm not kidding. And neither are they.

Last night, they slept out of the pen again. This is just the second time and I really meant to lock them up before lights out.However, I fell asleep before Family Feud even started at midnight... the heat is not my friend, air conditioning on or off... and when I woke up again, around 2, the pups were scattered all over the room sound asleep. You've heard the phrase, let sleeping dogs lie? It's good advice. Especially as there were several FULL bowls of adult food (which the babies like.)

Unfortunately, I woke up a little after 7.

Out All Night

For the first time, I didn't put the Magnificent 8 back in their pen last night. They made themselves comfortable in various spots around the bedroom... under the bed, curled up against a big dog, flat out on the floor in the middle of the room... meaning I had to step over them every time I got up (which is always quite often.) For the most part, they went back to their newspapers in the pen to go potty... not bad for pups under 8 weeks!... and they were generally pretty quiet and well behaved. It always amazes me, litter after litter, when puppies start taking their cue from my adult dogs and tuck themselves into bed as soon as the light go out. The tv HAS to be off or my adults figure I'm still awake, but when the house is quiet, it is QUIET. This morning I cleaned the pen, put down new newspaper and called "Puppy, puppy" and 4 of them walked themselves right in. The other 4 came up as soon as I closed the pen off and they saw there were pups on the other side of the wire. A very strong pack instinct! In a week or two, when I start putting pups back in the pen, everyone I haven't captured already will make a beeline for elsewhere!

Another Puppy Checks In

It always tickles me when I hear from someone years after they've gotten a puppy, especially when they send photos! This is Emma, a Di/Brogue pup who is soon to be 4 years old. Her puppy picture... thanks to her own natural good looks AND to her owner's terrific phtography skills... has been on my website and many of the ads I've placed for years. Any number of you have started you initial email with "I love Emma from PA." Well, here she is all grown up and the most unusual coloring I've ever seen in a Whoodle:


And she's not just another pretty face! This gal can mix it up with the best of them.


This shot looks like it should be captioned
I love you. I love you more.


Thanks for sending the photos, David!

Name Correction
Michelle wants me to get her pup's name right... Lolly is NOT Lulu. She is Lola! Good thing she caught that before I taught her the wrong thing!